The Coil Vases will be due for grading on Tuesday, Sept, 13  at the end of your class period. Be SURE that you have clearly written your name and class period on the bottom of your coil vase.

Your project is worth 100 points possible. It will be graded on the following:

Size: Must be between 9" and 11" tall from tabletop to tallest point on the art. 25 points possible.

Creativity: Must use at least 5 identifiable uses of "line" (clay coils, you were allowed to use coil balls as part of your art) . You did not just put one coil on another making a stack of lines, but attempted to create a visually pleasing use of coils. 25 points possible.

Must go in and out: The vase must curve in or out somehow.  25 points possible.

The insides are smoothed well with a wooden knife (or another tool). You did not use a lot of clay to pack the holes on the inside smooth. 25 points possible.

Late work will lose 5 points a day in addition to the score you received for your work.

The vases will be graded within a week of being turned in.

 Under "Class Files" there is a document called "The Creative Process".  Read and know this information for the first quiz next week. This quiz will be either Wednesday or Thursday (block days).

It is important that you be prepared to take notes on vocabulary and general concepts in class. The material that is given in lecture will be used in quizzes, discussions and the written final semester given in December.

 Beginning Monday, August 30, students will meet in the Ceramics Lab (Room 501) which is next door to the Art Lab where we've been meeting.

This week we will:

Assign seating
Assign storage
Finish our introduction to the Art Elements (notes)
Begin our first clay assignment: Create a coil vase.

As we begin our coil vase, we will learn how to make coils, how to attach, or join them, to the project using small cuts (called "scoring") and clay mud which is used to "glue" the clay pieces together (called "slip") so that the project doesn't fall apart.

The Project must have the following in it: 

When finished, it must be between 10 and 12 " tall, and be stable when it sits on a table
It must include at least three or four types of "line" (made out of coils, in this case)
It must be made smoothe on the inside and be water tight.
It must "go in and out", meaning, it must not be a straight tube, but rather, bulge out and be narrow somehow (your call.
The project will be due for grading September 10, 2011.

Welcome to Valley Center High School Ceramics!

Hi, I'm Mr. McMurdo, the Ceramics teacher at VCHS. I hope you've had a great summer doing exactly what you want!  Hard to believe but it's almost time to begin a new school year.  I will be posting information that you need for Ceramics here.  As the Fall 2011 semester progresses, I will also post your assignments here so you can check and see what we are doing in the studio.

Before school begins, here are a few things that might help you get off to a quick start:

For ceramics, you will need an old shirt or apron because it's a messy muddy place!

If you have long hair (girls or boys) be sure to bring in hair bands, scrunchies, hairpins, a non-logo baseball cap or a bandana to tie up your hair with. When we work on the wheel, you must have your hair up and out of the way.

You will need close toed shoes when working on the wheel.


Things we are always in need of:

Plastic grocery bags.
Plastic containers (like the plastic jars and lids that nuts come in from Costo) and their lids.
Hand lotion.

Things that need to be done the first two days of class:

Be sure to get a class syllabus and return it signed by your parent or guardian the following day.

If you are a returning ceramics student and passed two semesters with a grade of "C" or better, you may want to ask your counselor if you qualify to be in the Ceramics II class section. That way you will not have to repeat assignments that you have done in the past.


So that's it for the first announcement of the year! I'm looking forward to meeting and working with you!

Best,

Mr. McMurdo

 Class syllabus is posted under Class Files.  You can download this .PDF file, read it, and sign it (get your parent or guardian's signature on it, too).  Detach the lower part of the syllabus and bring it to class by August 31 for 25 points class credit. 

This is an overview of the topics you should know for the semester final.

Review info for Art Elements for Semester Final

This is color review for the Semester Final.

This is review material for the Semester Final on the art element of texture.

This is semester review information about the art principle of balance.

Rhythm and Movement art principles for the Semester Final

Class syllabus for Ceramics, 2011.